Since 2016, the Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite, and Processing Technology IGCV has been researching innovative casting topics in Garching. In the future, the scientists will find the best setting for further developments in casting technology: The foundation stone for a new building was laid on October 11 in 2019. A Fraunhofer research campus is currently being built on the 36,500 m² site near the TUM Campus Garching. In addition to the Fraunhofer IGCV, the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security AISEC and the Fraunhofer Institute for Embedded Systems and Communication Technology ESK will open new locations. »With the new casting pilot plant in Garching, we are expanding the existing strategy and synergy effects with our neighbors of natural science, the engineering faculties, and facilities of Science City Garching - and thus strengthening our core competences in indirect additive manufacturing, molding materials, process development, and analytics,« says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wolfram Volk, institute director and responsible for the scientific field of casting technology at the Fraunhofer IGCV. Customers from the automotive and mechanical engineering industries as well as from the aerospace industry benefit from this. »With this combination and in such a location, we are in an excellent starting position for interdisciplinary research«. A total of 20 jobs will be created at the new Garching location.

Future-Oriented Casting Technology at the Fraunhofer IGCV

The expertise in casting of the Fraunhofer IGCV started in the Casting Working Group of the UTG-Institute of the Technical University Munich (TUM). The new team and the Fraunhofer ICT unit of »Functionally Integrated Lightweight Construction FIL« and the Project Group »Resource-Efficient Mechatronic Processing Machines RMV« of the Fraunhofer IWU, started work in July 2016 as the new Fraunhofer Institute for Casting, Composite and Processing Technology IGCV in Augsburg and Garching. Since then, the scientific field employees have been generating individual solutions for industry - always to transfer knowledge from research and development into industrial applications.

For the initiators of Garching, the main focus is on molding materials, sand and gravity die casting processes, and simulation. In the field of molding materials, inorganic binders and novel combinations of basic molding materials are of particular interest. In the area of sand and gravity die casting processes, the focus is on new approaches to the integration of quality assurance measures and the embedding of casting technology systems in overall control solutions (Industrie 4.0). The Simulation Department has set itself the task of closing gaps in the prediction of casting processes. It is important to consider new types of questions such as hybrid solutions when designing new simulations. Also, exciting solutions for remote collaboration are being researched. These can be virtual production environments but also visualizations via augmented reality.

Metal meets sand: buildings in the context of the casting process

Research is carried out at every single step from mold production to the finishing process, and further developments are driven forward. This is also reflected in the building's character: from the interior design to the exterior façade, the materials derive from the raw materials' basic structures and the casting materials. Molding and core sand, as well as metallic surfaces, characterize the appearance of the new building. In the future, the 1,500 m² main floor space will accommodate various functional areas. The heart of the building is the casting hall, which will soon house workshops, laboratory areas, meeting and seminar rooms, office areas for scientists, administration, and common and communication zones. It is planned to move in, in summer 2021.